


Childcare for Dummies

by ladygabe



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brief mentions of anxiety and canon-typical violence, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Kidfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, only mildly implied ignoct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 06:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladygabe/pseuds/ladygabe
Summary: Ignis had read of the status effect before, of course. Thus, he took a deep breath, reassuring himself that this was normal, to be expected, and, thankfully, temporary.“Whoa.” Prompto was the second to notice Noctis’s plight. “Did he just turn into a little kid?”(Noctis gets turned into a five-year-old. Chaos ensues.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Pure ridiculousness that got away with me. This story is finished, but I decided to split it up into four chapters for ease of reading. 
> 
> I am still working on Firebringer, and will update it soon!

Ignis had read of the status effect before, of course. He had become something of an overnight expert on the possible side effects that came from hunting Eos’s daemonic denizens after Noctis had been turned into a frog. The sheer panic that had resulted from seeing the fate of their star held in webbed hands was not a meltdown Ignis wished to experience a second time. Thus, he took a deep breath, reassuring himself that this was normal, to be expected, and, thankfully, temporary. 

It did not mean, however, that seeing a small child struggling amongst his king’s clothes was not unnerving. 

“Whoa.” Prompto was the second to notice Noctis’s plight. “Did he just turn into a little kid?”

Ignis readjusted his glasses more out of habit than necessity. 

“Indeed. It is a rare ailment, with few recorded cases, but it appears we have another instance to add to the local lore.” Panic was unnecessary, and, indeed, foolish. No doubt, as was the case with the frog fiasco, Noctis would retain his normal ability to process stimuli and other similar mental functions. As he was still human in form, they were blessed with the added bonus that he could likely communicate. 

Ignis was proven right as Gladio crouched before the child that was their leader. 

“Hey, bud. You know who we are, right?” Noctis looked up at him with deep blue eyes far too large for his face and nodded. 

And then Ignis was proved very wrong. 

“You’re _kidnappers_.”

All hell broke loose. First, Noctis let out an ear-piercing wail that set them all back on their heels. Then he leapt up, and, with far too much speed for a child dressed only in an oversized t-shirt, attempted to flee into the woods. Gladio’s reflexes were fast enough to catch him by the arm, but he was unprepared for the defense Noctis had honed from the moment his baby teeth had come in. 

“He _bit_ me!” Gladio shrieked, jerking back and rapidly shaking his stinging hand. Prompto leapt into action, braving the threat of tiny teeth to tackle the fleeing terror. He scooped him up, wincing as small limbs flailed, smacking into any part of him they could reach. 

“Ow ow ow! Noct, come on, cut it out –” Gladio whipped off his jacket and raced back into the fray, bundling the approximate five-year-old into it until only his head was visible. Relieving Prompto of the Noct-burrito, he turned to scowl at Ignis. 

“What the hell do we do?” he shouted over the continued yowling. Ignis realized he had been simply staring during the entire circus, stunned into inaction. 

“We – “ We what? The effect was so uncommon no one had thought up a remedy for it yet. They could not just go swing by the nearest convenience store. The effect was said to last for up to a week, so it was not as if they could just park themselves at a haven and wait it out. And as it was, walking into town with a screaming, half-naked child was a good way to get them all arrested on the spot. 

They had to gain Noctis’s trust. That was the first step. Small steps, Ignis. Baby steps, even. He could do this. 

“Prompto, I need a bottle of water.” Confused but always ready to help, the younger man dug up a half-full, crumpled bottle and tossed it over. Ignis put his glasses in his jacket pocket for safety and bent over, pouring the water over his head and attempting to comb the gel out of his hair with his fingers. He was going to look ridiculous, but desperate times called for desperate measures. 

“What are you even doing?” Gladio snapped, ever impatient. At least Noctis was starting to get hoarse, the high pitch of his crying occasionally now interrupted by soft hiccups. 

“Hold him so he can see me,” Ignis said, brushing his now unruly bangs to the right-hand side and replacing his glasses. He crouched down to be at Noctis’s eye-level. 

“Noctis. Noctis, look at me.” He put an edge of steel into his voice, insistent until the little prince finally stopped weeping long enough to peer at him. Ignis softened his expression into a smile, one that he did not have to force. Even with his eyes full of tears and a questionable substance starting to leak from his nose, Noctis was quite adorable. “Noct, who do I look like?”

Ever the clever child, Noctis was unable to resist the challenge. He sniffled and blinked hard until he could see Ignis clearly. After a moment of studying him, he frowned. “… Iggy.” Ignis beamed. 

“That’s right.” 

“But you’re _not_ Iggy,” Noctis accused, brows pinching together. “Iggy isn’t big!” 

“You knew him when he was this little?” Prompto asked, sounding awed. Ignis ignored the interruption. 

“I am now, Noct. And do you know who is holding you? It is Clarus’s son, Gladiolus. You remember him, right?” Noctis craned his neck back to peer at Gladio’s hairy chin. 

“I don’t believe you,” he finally decided. Ignis sighed. Time to pull out the big guns. 

“If I were not Iggy, would I know this?” Ignis leaned forward and whispered the most cherished of childhood secrets into the prince’s tiny ear. 

He pulled back to a round face full of awe. “You _are_ Iggy!” Noctis began to writhe in Gladio’s grip once more, but this time he was struggling towards Ignis instead of away from him. Ignis scooped the child from the Shield’s arms, freeing him from the coat. “How did you get so big??”

“Actually, Noct, what happened was that you just got very small.” There was no sense hiding the truth from him. It would be more problematic to come up with a lie. “Just a few minutes ago, you were big, too.” Noctis established a firm grip on Ignis’s collar before turning around to study the other two members of the group. 

“As big as him?” Noctis asked, staring up at Gladio even while at the height of Ignis’s shoulder. Now relaxed, Gladio snorted. 

“You wish, Princess.”

“Ah, not quite.” Ignis had to bite down on his own chuckle lest Noctis’s pout grew in size. 

Then there was the sound of a shutter and a bright flash, and Noctis screamed. He pulled on the ends of Ignis’s collar hard enough to hurt and promptly hid his face against his balled fists. Just as startled as the child, Prompto stumbled backwards, the strap the only thing keeping his camera from taking a nasty fall. 

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten him -- !” 

Ignis began to rub Noctis’s back in careful circles. He had not dealt with a child so small since Noctis was this age the first time around, but he had seen many mothers do the same to their upset children. “Shh, shh, it’s all right.”

“Oh man, that’s right,” Gladio scoffed, shaking his head. “He’s scared of them.”

“Scared of what?” asked Prompto, baffled. 

“Cameras.” Ignis had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the horrified look on Prompto’s face. 

“He’s scared of _cameras_? You’re kidding!”

“If you were very small and met by a barrage of paparazzi every time you go outside, what would you think of them?” Ignis asked. 

“I’m not small,” Noctis muttered sullenly. Ignis just patted him on the back again. 

“Oh.” Prompto could not have looked more heartbroken. “I won’t take any more pictures of him.” Ignis had to feel sympathy for the poor boy. 

“Perhaps you can try again tomorrow, but he has been through a lot in the last five minutes,” Ignis said. “For tonight, let’s just get to a haven.”

Gladio scooped up Noctis’s shed clothing with an affirmative grunt. “Let’s head back to the Regalia.”

Noctis resurfaced abruptly, blue eyes wide as he stared at Gladio. “The Regalia?” he exclaimed. “Papa’s car??”

The reminder of what the child did not know struck them all at once. There was an uncomfortable silence before Ignis found his voice again. 

“Yes, your father’s car. He’s letting us borrow it.” That was true enough, at least. Noctis regarded them all with awe, and, thankfully, did not ask any probing questions. 

“Uh, we don’t exactly have a car seat,” Prompto pointed out as they made their way back to the road. “And I don’t think a normal seatbelt is gonna do much good for him.”

That was a problem. One considered and quickly resolved. “Gladio can hold him.”

“What?!” Ignis gave him a look that brokered no argument. 

“You are his Shield, after all, and the backseat is safest for children. Thus, he should ride with you.” Gladio gave Noctis a look as if he expected to be bitten again, but neither party protested when they got to the car and Ignis deposited the child in Gladio’s lap. 

“Does he need diapers?” Gladio asked uncomfortably, suddenly quite aware that Noctis was wearing nothing more than an adult’s t-shirt as a makeshift dress. For his question, said child gave him a steely glare. 

“I am _five_ ,” Noctis announced imperiously. “I have been potty-trained since I was _three_.”

In the front seat, Prompto had to clap both of his hands over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Appropriately scolded, Gladio ducked his head with a chuckle of his own. 

“Right, right. My bad.”

“Don’t you have a little sister, Gladio?” Prompto teased when he could speak again. “Shouldn’t you know these things?”

“I wasn’t involved in any of that!” Gladio protested. Noctis gasped, this information new and exciting for him. 

“Your mama finally had her baby?” he asked, delighted. Gladio nodded his head. 

“Yeah. Her name is Iris. And I’m totally gonna have to text her about this.” Seemingly unconcerned that he was going to be fodder for much cooing when the teenager found out, Noctis considered this. 

“Iris is a pretty name. I like it.” Gladio could not help but smile. 

“Yeah, it is.” A pause, and then the big man grinned. “And you know what? There’s something she got you that I think you’ll like even more now.” Curious, Noctis cocked his head to the side, only to gasp when Gladio reached up, calling upon the power of the Armiger. 

“You’ve got Daddy’s magic now!” He was quickly distracted, however, by what had materialized in Gladio’s hand. 

The moogle doll was rather worn at the moment, having seen its fair share of battles, but that did not seem to matter to Noctis in the least. He held his chubby little fingers out in blind wonder. 

“I love him,” he announced to no one in particular. Gladio chuckled as his child king grabbed hold of the moogle and cuddled it against his chest. 

“That’s almost as big as you, buddy,” Prompto pointed out, amused. 

“Because we’re friends!” Noctis answered, as if that made perfect sense. He then blinked at Prompto, as if seeing him for the first time. “… are we friends?”

“Oh, heck yeah! We’re best friends, Noct.” Noctis scrunched his nose up, obviously having trouble imagining himself friends with someone who owned a _camera _.__

__“Iggy’s my best friend,” he protested, pointing at the front seat. Ignis nearly missed his turn._ _

__“You can have multiple best friends!” Prompto soothed quickly._ _

__“Oh.” Noctis continued to look unconvinced. “I don’t even know your name.” Prompto nearly cursed, but caught himself at a sharp glare from the driver’s seat._ _

__“That’s right, you wouldn’t. I’m Prompto. We met at school!” School. That word completely rerouted Noctis’s currently very tiny attention span. Soon he was peppering Prompto about the wonders of school, which he continued to insist he would start in the fall._ _

__Ignis was grateful to Gladio and Prompto for distracting Noctis from what might have been much more awkward questions. If they had any luck at all, they might be able to keep that up until Noctis was old enough to remember things on his own._ _

__“I see the smoke for a haven up ahead,” Gladio murmured under the chatter of the other pair. With a nod, Ignis made his way towards it. Camping with a child was not ideal, but, then again, nothing about this situation was._ _

__“Where are we going?” Noctis finally asked._ _

__“We’re going camping,” Gladio said. “It’ll be fun.”_ _

__“Like that time in the gardens,” Ignis mentioned for Noctis’s sake. That got him two curious looks._ _

__“You and Noct camped out in the gardens?” Gladio asked. This was the first time he had heard of it._ _

__“That’s adorable, dude.” Ignis felt his cheeks heat._ _

__“It was nothing special,” he insisted._ _

__“We were going to see the stars,” Noct interjected. A pout had formed on his bottom lip. “Until Cor caught us.”_ _

__“Hold on a second.” Prompto held up both hands in disbelief. “You _snuck out_ to go camping? You, Ignis, snuck out?”_ _

__“I was eight,” Ignis protested._ _

__“And you got caught by the Marshal?” Gladio asked, similarly aghast. “I need to hear this story.” Ignis was quickly regretting having said anything at all._ _

__“Would you like to see the stars tonight, Noctis?” he asked the young prince, purposefully derailing the conversation. Noctis lit up like a barrelfish._ _

__“Can we?! Can we please??” He looked around the car, as if unsure who he should be asking permission from. Faced with the pleading eyes of a five-year-old, the other two were swift to assure him that he could, mercifully forgetting their questions for the moment._ _

__Ignis could only hope it would last as he parked the Regalia by the roadside and raised the top._ _

__Prompto relieved Gladio of Noctis duty so that he could climb out the of car. “Thank goodness I’ve been doing my weight lifting,” the younger man huffed as he got Noctis situated in his arms._ _

__“New way to get those gains, huh?” Gladio teased. Noctis looked uncertain about being in a stranger’s arms, but did not raise a fuss. Still, he had a small wrinkle in between his brows that made Ignis’s fingers itch to take him away. No, he would behave. It was best for Prompto to take over babysitting for the moment. Gladio was best suited to setting up camp, and it was high time for him to begin supper._ _

__Oh, dear. A supper that was going to be even more of a challenge than usual, considering what little progress he had made in expanding Noctis’s palette was now gone._ _

__For once, Ignis found himself wishing he had some frozen cockatrice nuggets on hand._ _


	2. Prompto

Noctis had started to frown as soon as Prompto picked him up. It only deepened the closer they got to the haven. To be honest, it was making Prompto kind of uncomfortable. 

“What’s that look for?” he finally asked, unable to take it any longer. 

“You’re not going to take any more pictures of me, are you?” Noctis asked. 

Oh boy, did Prompto _want_ to take pictures of him. He wanted to take pictures of him so bad. Like right this second, with his chubby face half-hidden behind the beaten-up stuffed moogle he still clung to. No one had prepared him for how adorable his best friend had been as a small child. He felt an overwhelming need to commemorate this moment and make it the background on his phone for the rest of forever. 

But he could not bring himself to upset Noctis, even temporarily, to do it. “Of course not,” he promised, though his entire soul rebelled against it. “Not if you don’t want me to.” Noctis did not look convinced. “Look, I’m really sorry about earlier, okay? I didn’t know you didn’t like cameras.”

“But you said we’re best friends when I’m big.” Obviously, this was something Noctis felt Prompto should have already known. To be fair, Prompto himself felt like he should have been able to guess. Even as a teenager, Noctis had been leery of the lens. They had been friends for six months before Prompto had gotten his first real portrait of Noctis, not just a glimpse from behind or a body part that had not fully left the frame. 

“You don’t mind cameras so much when you’re big,” Prompto explained. “I take pictures of you all the time.” 

“I like it?” Noctis asked, as incredulous as if Prompto had suggested he liked eating socks when he grew up. 

“Well, ‘like’ is a strong word. More like tolerate it, if I’ve got to be honest. Can I set you down?” Gladio had opened one of the camp chairs and waved Prompto to it. Prompto was relieved; as much as he liked to brag about his developing muscles, they were not quite up to prince-carting standards just yet. How did moms do it?

“Yeah.” Prompto lowered Noctis into the seat. He looked so small there, taking up no more space than the moogle doll itself. Damn, he wanted to take a picture _so_ bad. This was it. This was going to be what killed him. 

“I’m gonna get my camera out so I can show you, okay?” Noctis tried to shield himself with the plush. “Hey, hey, I promise, I’m not going to take a picture. Here, I’ll even – do you know how to pinkie swear?” That got him an eye back, at least. 

“Yeah.” Prompto held out a pinkie. 

“Okay, then. I pinkie swear I won’t take a picture of you.” Even if it was going to be the death of him. Slowly, Noctis reached out and crooked his little finger, letting Prompto shake it with his own. 

Holding out his other hand, Prompto summed his camera from the armiger. The act made Noctis sit up straight. “You have Daddy’s magic, too!” he said, suddenly not nearly so shy. Prompto had to laugh. 

“Uh, yeah. Well, actually, I’ve got your magic. You gave it to me, not too long ago.” Noctis looked at his own hands in amazement, as if they had gone off and granted Prompto his powers without his knowing. In a way, Prompto supposed, they sort of had. 

“So I can do magic like Papa?” he asked. 

“Yeah, man! You can do all kinds of cool stuff! Like – here, look at this.” Prompto quickly flipped through his camera’s memory. He found an image of Noctis, as his normal self, the Engine Blade glowing blue as it materialized in his hand. The armiger was a great source of lighting, he had to say. “That’s you, calling up your awesome sword!” 

His pinkie ached with the weight of his promise as Noctis’s eyes got round. That would have been such a good shot… 

“Woooow.” Noctis drew out the vowel in amazement. “I’m _cool_.” Prompto ignored Gladio’s sporfle from where he was setting the tent up. 

“Yeah, bud. You really are.” All of Noctis’s shyness seemed to evaporate at the comment, a flood of questions falling from his lips. 

“Am I good fighter? Am I tall? Do I have any cats? Can I see more pictures?” Prompto waved his hands with a laugh. 

“Whoa, whoa! Let’s see – yes, you are. Um, you’re not short. You just look short in some pictures next to Mr. Model and Mr. Body-Builder over there.” He jutted his thumb in the direction of the other two men. “But I do too, so don’t worry about it. You don’t have any cats, but you do get to pet a lot of them, which is almost as good. And yes, you can see more pictures.” The squat he was in was starting to wear on his knees, however. “Can I sit with you? You can sit on my lap so you can see.” Noctis nodded fervently, holding out his free arm. 

Carefully, Prompto picked him up and placed him on his lap, stretching his legs out with a relieved sigh. The boy squirmed for just a moment before settling, letting Prompto put his arms around him to show him the camera screen. 

“Ready?” He began to flip through the pictures, explaining each one. Noctis pointed to details in wonder, leaving tiny fingerprints that Prompto found he did not mind. 

Noctis was full of questions. It was such a surprise, given that the older version was so withdrawn and quiet. Prompto was pretty sure he had never even heard him ask a question once in school. Was this what Marilith had taken away from him? Or was it just the pressures that came with growing up with a crown on his head?

Prompto belatedly noticed that Gladio had finished setting up the tent and was hovering close. Suspiciously close. With his phone held up in a very unsubtle way – 

That bastard. Noctis apparently did not realize that cellphones had cameras on them, too. While Noctis was being awed by a shot of the black baby chocobo, Prompto made sure to take the opportunity to flip the big man off. 

Oh well. At least there would be some photos he could use to tease Noctis mercilessly with later. 

“I like your pictures,” Noctis finally stated, tilting his head back to peer up at him. Prompto nearly melted where he sat. 

“Really?” He could not think of a higher compliment. Not even getting his work in the Meteor. 

Then an idea struck him. “Hey, how about you take some?” Noctis looked bewildered. 

“Take pictures?”

“Yeah!” Prompto shortened the camera strap and looped it around Noctis’s neck where it could not fall. “Now, you have to promise to be careful, but you can use my camera and take as many pictures as you like.” Prompto switched the mode to automatic, and patiently taught Noctis how to simply point and click. 

Cautiously, Noctis finally lifted the camera (it was quite heavy, for such small arms), and pointed it towards where Ignis was chopping vegetables. 

“Want to take a picture of Iggy?” Prompto asked. “Okay, just hold it as steady as you can – and click the button!” The shutter sound made Noctis jump. Prompto was glad he had turned off the flash.

“Did it do it?” Noctis asked, squinting down at the screen. 

“Yep! Let me show you.” Prompto pushed the play button, bringing up the picture of Ignis. Not bad, for a five-year-old’s first shot, in his humble opinion. The sunset made the colors quite nice. “Ooh, I love the lighting.”

A smile bloomed across Noctis’s face, one more sweet and gentle than any he had ever seen on his best friend. 

Suddenly getting a picture of him did not matter at all. Prompto had seen that smile and he would never forget it, photograph or no.


	3. Gladio

Watching tiny Noctis run around the camp and take pictures was, Gladio had to admit, completely adorable. The child was much different than he remembered; granted, he had only seen him rarely at that age. His father had wanted to make certain Gladio had a life of his own before duty would call him to the prince’s side. All Gladio had seen of Noctis was a trembling little kid who hid behind his dad’s pantleg like a baby. 

Gladio wished he could go back and tell his younger self how lonely that child was, how much he just needed a friend. 

Unfortunately, it would be some years before Gladio learned to be that friend to him. 

Gladio returned his attention to the firepit. It would be dark soon. Even though the runes of the have would keep the daemons at bay, wild beasts were not scared of a few glowing sigils. It took a true fire to keep them wary.

He had just gotten it to really start burning when Prompto’s frightened voice sent a chill down his spine. 

“Guys, where’s Noct?” Both Gladio and Ignis whirled on the younger man, who was standing, face pale, a pair of Knight’s Knight themed socks in his hand. 

“You were the one watching him!” Gladio barked, scanning the haven. No sign of him, which meant – shit. 

“He doesn’t have any shoes,” Prompto started to babble, panic rising. “I just ducked into the tent for a _second_ to get him some socks and he just – “ 

The sun was at the horizon. Within minutes, it would be dark, and the woods surrounding them would be filled with daemons. Daemons that would swallow a boy like Noctis whole. 

Ignis’ face had gone white, and Gladio was certain the look on his own was no better. “You – “ He jabbed a finger towards Prompto. “Go east. Iggy, west. I’ll take north. Yell the second you find him.” Orders given, he spun around and charged into the brush, heart hammering away in his chest so loud he could barely hear his own shouts. 

He should not be angry with Prompto. It was not his fault. Having a little sister, he knew how quick a child could disappear. A blink of an eye, and they were gone. It was not Noct’s fault, either, but it was hard to wrestle down anger when, in its absence, there was only terror. The world was at stake. The future of Lucis was at stake. But, most importantly, Noct’s life was in danger. 

That was the worst feeling of all. 

“Noct!” he bellowed, hearing the calls echoed from Prompto and Ignis as they spread out. “Noctis!”

There, in the distance, a flash of light. 

Prompto’s damn camera. 

Gladio broke into a run as the last rays of sunlight faded from the sky. 

“Noctis!”

All the sudden he could spot him in the distance, illuminated in the worst possible way. 

Bombs. 

Gladio did not remember how he crossed the distance between him and the boy so fast. Nor when he had summoned his great sword. He was only aware of it in his hand as he swung it like a baseball bat, knocking the closest daemon spinning off into one of its fellows. 

Noctis screamed. 

Gladio rolled out of the way of a blast of fire, having no time to think. No time to breathe. All of his focus went into distracting the Bombs, batting them away again and again to draw their fire. But they were only getting bigger, and time was running out. 

A gunshot struck a Bomb, keeping the fiery daemon from ramming right into Gladio from the side. Then Ignis was there beside him, blades gleaming with ice. The cavalry. 

“Take the Prince and go!” Ignis snapped. Gladio knew better than to argue. He took the opportunity to grab the child, who had cowered to the ground, covering his head. Wrapping him securely in his arms, Gladio used his body as a literal shield as he made for the haven, leaving Ignis and Prompto to the fight. 

By the time they reached the campsite, Noctis’s terror had materialized into traumatized tears. He began to wail, unable to even form words. 

Gladio collapsed to his knees from the sheer weight of relief, mindless of the solid stone beneath them. In the distance, he heard an explosion. Then another. Noctis hiccupped and then went still. 

Whatever happened, the Prince was all right. Gladio had done his duty. 

“Are they dead?” Noctis whispered, so low Gladio almost missed the question. 

What little anger was left in him faded. He would not have expected a child this young to even comprehend death, much less think of it first. 

“Iggy and Prom can take a couple Bombs,” he croaked, voice hoarse from yelling. If Noct had been his normal self, that would have been an easy fight. 

Unexpectedly, Noctis began to bawl again at the news. 

“Hey hey hey, that’s a good thing!” Gladio replied, startled. 

“T-there was a fox and I saw it in the woods and I just wanted to get a picture and I went after it even though I wasn’t supposed to and then monsters showed up because I was bad and you’re going to be mad and yell at me and – “ 

Suddenly Gladio understood something Ignis had tried to explain to him years before. Ignis had told him that Noctis’s anxiety was not a matter of outlook or experience, but an innate part of how his mind worked. Something that no amount of positive thinking or lifestyle changes could fix. Gladio had never understood. 

Not until now, faced with a tiny child, one who had lived the life of a spoiled prince, terrified by situations his mind had conjured up of its own accord. 

Gladio reached forward and pulled Noct into his arms, holding him the way he used to hold Iris when she was small. He remembered how his father would do it, bouncing her gently and rubbing small circles onto her back. He did so now, murmuring soft words of comfort. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m not mad at you. Those monster didn’t show up because you ran off. It’s because it was dark. You didn’t know they’d be there. It’s okay.”

Noctis’s sobs had softened into sniffles by the time Prompto and Ignis returned to the haven, looking frazzled but none the worse for wear. 

“Is he all right?” Prompto asked, lavender eyes full of worry. 

“He’s not hurt,” Gladio answered. Ignis held out his arms, but Gladio shook his head. Not yet. His duty was not yet done. He was his prince’s Shield, and he would protect him from the daemons of the night – whether they came from the Scourge or from the depths of his own mind.


	4. Ignis

Gladio would say that Ignis was fretting. It was not a word Ignis was fond of; it sounded immature, foolish. When he was worried, he had a right to be. He never worried without a reason. 

Right now, he certainly had a reason. 

Ignis finished supper, taking less time with the task than he normally would, trying to ignore the tremor in his hands. He trusted Gladio, of course. With his life, and, more importantly, with Noctis’s. However, he knew the twisting in his gut would not settle until he held Noctis in his arms and checked for himself that he was all right. 

While serving supper he took the opportunity to study Noctis up close. The prince had, unsurprisingly, fallen asleep against Gladio’s shoulder, worn out by his misadventure. It was strange to see the big man so at ease with such a small child, but, then again, he was the only one of them that had experience. Neither Prompto nor Ignis had siblings, nor much of an extended family. 

“He’s fine,” Gladio said, as if he could read Ignis’s anxiety straight off his face. If anyone could, it would be him. “He just had a scare.”

“As did we,” Ignis huffed as he sat. His nerves were still raw; he was fairly certain Noctis was the only one who would get any sleep tonight. Prompto was hunched over his plate, pushing the rice around aimlessly, guilt obviously still eating at him. 

Ignis sighed. That would not do. 

“Prompto.” The younger man jerked to attention, eyes wide. “Prompto, no one is angry at you.” Perhaps he had been, at first, but he could not remain that way. 

Prompto looked disbelieving, gaze flickering between Gladio and Ignis as if he expected one of them was going to change their minds and start yelling at him. 

“I wasn’t watching him close enough,” Prompto finally said, voice thin. 

“Prompto,” Ignis said again, gentler on the name this time. “I had the pleasure of knowing Noctis at this age, the first time around. You could not have watched him close enough to keep something like this from happening.”

“Little kids are ninjas, the lot of them,” Gladio added. “You blink wrong and they’re gone. I can’t tell you the number of times I lost Iris.” 

Prompto chewed on his bottom lip, having a hard time accepting the facts. “But –” 

“In addition, we did not warn him of the dangers,” Ignis interrupted. “That is on all of us, not just you. … not that he would have likely remembered them, in any case. Or followed them even if he did.”

Finally, Prompto sighed, giving them both a weak smile. “Okay. If you say so. I … still want to be more careful next time.”

“So do we all,” Ignis assured him. 

“I’m gonna make him a todder leash,” Gladio announced. Ignis shot him a withering glare. 

“You are not going to leash the Chosen King of Lucis,” he scolded. 

“Aww, come on. You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it before.” Ignis huffed. 

“That is beside the point.” Prompto cracked up, and the tension around the campfire finally dissipated. 

“I’m starting to get hungry,” Gladio said, giving the child taking up one of his arms and most of his chest a rueful look. Seeing his chance, Ignis set his own plate aside. 

“Hand him to me.” The Shield acquiesced this time, handing the child over. It struck Ignis yet again as he took him how small Noctis was at the moment, how fragile. 

Being lifted through the air caused the young king to stir. By the time he was in Ignis’s lap, he was blearily blinking his eyes, crusty from his earlier sobs. Ignis used his thumb to wipe them clear, touch gentle. 

“Iggy?” Ignis smiled, unable to keep himself from pressing a kiss to Noctis’s forehead. Let the others mock him for it later; it was worth it in this moment. 

“I am here, Your Highness.” Noctis wrinkled his nose at the title, a familiar and endearing sight. 

“My head hurts.” From the crying, no doubt. Ignis reached up, checking his forehead just to be certain, before smoothing his wild locks back. Predictably, it did not do much for it; Noctis’s hair had always had a life of its own. 

“Let me rub it for you,” Ignis said, beginning to gently massage his scalp with his fingertips. Noctis’s head soon lulled forward, eyes slipping shut. Ignis could hear Gladio and Prompto smother giggles and shot them both a sharp look over his king’s head. 

“You’re gonna make him purr,” Gladio teased, completely unfazed. 

“I’m pretty sure I can see his ears twitching,” Prompto added. Miscreants, the both of them. Oblivious to the other two, or perhaps simply too pleased to care, Noctis continued to encourage the touch. 

When he became aware Noctis was about to faceplant forward, Ignis stopped, gently righting the child again. Noctis made a noise of complaint, his lower lip jutting out in a manner Ignis did not remember being so adorable in the slightest. 

“You should eat something, Noct,” Ignis said, picking up the plate he had prepared for him. He had made a Papa Bird and Baby bowl; it was a favorite of Noctis’s as an adult, and he had to hope it would still be one despite his new lack of age. 

“What’s that?” Noctis asked, eyeing the strange food suspiciously. 

“It is cockatrice and egg over rice,” Ignis said, letting him inspect it. “Not a single vegetable in it, I swear to you.” There were some battles Ignis was wise enough not to fight. 

Noctis took the proffered plate carefully, peering at it as if to double-check that Ignis was telling him the truth. “It is very good,” Ignis assured him. “Have a taste?”

Obviously leery, but not wishing to disappoint his oldest friend, Noctis picked up his spoon and took the smallest bite possible. 

A pause. Ignis held his breath in anticipation. 

Then, to his delight, Noctis dug into the dish with gusto. 

“Look at him go,” laughed Gladio, before getting distracted by Prompto waving wildly at him and pointing at his cell phone. With a bemused look, the big man took his own out and started snapping photos. Prompto must be desperate for photos if he was resorting to sub-par cell phone shots taken by _Gladio_. Ignis found himself hoping that some of them turned out well. This was a status effect he would not mind at all remembering. 

Noctis managed a good half of the plate before he finally sat back, a groan escaping him. “I’m full,” he announced, as if the entire camp needed to know this fact. With a chuckle, Ignis took the plate – and promptly put it in Gladio’s outstretched hand. 

“Was it good, then?” Ignis asked, even though Noctis’s reaction had said it all. He enjoyed hearing praise of his cooking. So sue him. 

“It was delicious,” Noctis said, beaming up at him. Ignis could feel his heart melting in his chest. Hopefully tomorrow they could get a camper, or even dare to get a motel room with a kitchenette. Ignis wanted to see how the little one would react to his baked goods. 

“I am glad to hear it.” He found himself pressing another kiss to the boy’s forehead. “Are you sleepy?”

“Not yet,” Noctis said, but Ignis did not take that at face value. One thing he did remember was that Noctis could fall asleep without warning at any moment. It was not a habit he had outgrown. 

“Good, because remember that I have something to show you.” Noctis looked confused; the events of the evening had been too overwhelming. Ignis stood up, scooping the child up with him. Noctis wrapped his small arms around the older man’s neck, expression curious. “We’re just going behind the tent, so the firelight won’t bother us.” 

As they walked, Noctis peered out into the darkness warily, trying to see whatever it was Ignis was going to show him. 

“Not that way, Noctis,” Ignis said. “Look up.”

Baffled, the young king did. 

Ignis would remember his awed gasp for the rest of his days. 

“There are so many!” Noctis squealed. He sat straight up in Ignis’s arms, reaching up as if he could run his fingers through the sea of stars that stretched out above them. 

Ignis could recall many a night stargazing from Noctis’s window, or, if they were daring, from the Citadel roof. With the glow of the city lights and the haze of the Wall, only the brightest stars were ever visible and the sky always had a red-tinged hue. Here, in the wilds of Lucis, the sky was black as ink, with a million stars on full display for their pleasure. Ignis could even see the band of gases that made up an arm of their galaxy, something he had only seen in photographs until they had ventured on this road trip. 

Noctis’s eyes had shone with delight that first night, when they looked up and saw the stars from the relatively dim town of Hammerhead, but his emotions had been muted, kept close to his heart. Nothing compared to seeing him like this, without the weight of years, the burden of the crown upon him. There was nothing to taint to his happiness as he got to experience the full joy of the night he had been named after. 

Gladio and Prompto soon joined them, and together they sat under the full sky, pointing out constellations and planets. Noctis was beside himself when he spotted a meteor streak through the atmosphere. They stayed like that until Noctis had fallen asleep in Ignis’s arms, head pillowed on the moogle plush, Prompto’s jacket draped over him as a blanket. 

Looking down at him, flanked by his brothers-in-arms, Ignis knew they were all thinking the same as he. For Noctis, they would steal all the stars in the sky.


End file.
